WHAT DOES THE CHURCH NEED MONEY FOR?

By Pr. Matthew Short

In some churches, money is given away for everything under the sun. We say, “as long as a member has a burning heart for it, why not?! Why shouldn’t we fund everything possible?” Or maybe quite the opposite. Some congregations say, “we never paid for a pastor, and it never actually hurt us. Why should we do that now?”

But what does the Bible have to say about the stewardship of the church’s financial resources? What should be part of your church budget? What does the Bible say about where you should invest your money as a church? We will see that the answer is: Church budgeting must be derived from the mission to teach given to the church by Jesus. This article is divided into two major points that unpack that statement. Why and how?

1. Why budget for the mission? Since the Kingdom of God is our ultimate treasure, we sacrifice everything else including our money for it. 

2. How do you budget for the mission? By investing in sound doctrine and excellent teaching. On this pont, we will spend most of our word count.

Why Budget for the Mission of the Church?

Here is an introductory question to our first Bible text: What does your mission have to do with money? Short answer: very little. The mission of Jesus Christ is not dependent upon money. But what does your money have to do with our mission? Everything. That’s a whole other question. The mission of Jesus Christ does not depend on money, but our money has everything to do with our mission. Our first point revolves around the question, “why?” The Bible answers it like this: Since the Kingdom of God is our ultimate treasure, we sacrifice everything else for it – including our money.

Matthew 6 verse 21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“

In other words, what you treasure most reveals what is most important to you. 

For example, a father shows his appreciation for his children by sacrificing his time and money for them. This is an investment in his true treasure. When he puts his children to bed feeling richly blessed, or when he feels fatherly pride in seeing their progress in life, he appreciates his children – especially when he feels something about them that he does not feel about other things.

As individuals, but also as a church, we treasure things when we assign them value that we do not assign to other things. So, it’s clear that the treasure Jesus is talking about here in the Sermon on the Mount is not money. It’s not like he’s saying, “Invest your money where your heart is.” This brings us to our next question: what then is the treasure of the church? In what does our common heart become visible?

I read verse 33 from the same chapter:

“33 Rather, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you!“

D.A. Carson gives this detailed interpretation of this verse: 

“To seek the kingdom of God first means to have first of all the desire to 1-enter the messianic kingdom that Jesus has already ushered in, 2-submit to it, 3-participate in spreading the news of God’s saving reign, and 4- live in such a way as to accumulate treasures in heaven in the prospect of its consummation.”

This is where our hearts should be and what we should value: entering the kingdom of God, submitting to the King, and sharing the gospel so that we may accumulate treasures in heaven. 

At this point, you may be saying, “what does this have to do with a church budget!” Not to worry. Here’s how you apply Matthew 6 to your spending and budgeting as a church.

First, money is a little thing. Money is not our treasure, but our treasures are in heaven. That’s what we need to focus our lives on. For example, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:11, “If we have sown you spiritual goods, is it a great thing if we reap from you those for the body?” We really need to be careful here not to think in a worldly way. Yes, of course money enables various ministries in the church, but it is not the most important issue in church ministry. But then, what is important about the church budget?

A budget turns out to be a list of priorities, and thus it is a spiritual tool. Indeed, through your budget you teach each one another what is important to you as a church. What do you want to invest your common assets in? What do you value most? What are you willing to give up from the goods of this world in order to further the aims of the church? The exact amounts for each item by themselves are limited, of course, but by comparing them to each other we can determine interesting things. I believe you could look at the budget of my church, and by comparing the amounts, you can gain good insight for what my church considers really important. Yes, any church can have a fancy website that says we value the Bible, sound teaching, and good doctrine, but does your self-sacrifice actually support that claim or undermine it?

But, you should ask yourself, how does your church’s budget implement and enable the values, tasks and mission of our King?

So, we’ve seen how important your budget is. With your budget, “you put our money where your mouth is.” When you see something as really important for the Kingdom of God, you personally sacrifice and then jointly invest your church’s assets for it. But how do we come up with certain line items in the budget? How do you decide how much money to earmark for something? So far, we’ve only spoken in generalities here. I think that we must seek more clarity from the King. 

In our second point, we will look at the means, that is, the how. How should you, as a church, seek the Kingdom first? This will then determine a key item in your budget. Here Matthew 28 beginning in verse 18 is critical. “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples … 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.“

This text shows us that King Jesus commands us to make disciples who obey His words. And how is this to be done? Look at the first words of verse 20: by teaching. This is our final point. So how does a church budget especially well? By investing in sound doctrine and excellent teaching. 

Imagine that the most amazing event in human history has just happened. A man – no – the God-Man, is victorious over invincible death. Now this unique victor over death, the King of the Universe, delegates a certain authority to his followers. What kind of authority would we expect? Authority to conquer? Authority for holy war? For social justice? No, surprisingly none of these authorities. The most important authority and mission since the Garden of Eden has to do with teaching! So, this means that no matter what else a church does, its teaching should be done with excellence! 

What does excellent teaching look like? Well chiefly, it is the declaration, elucidation, and exhortation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are here today and this gospel is new to you, here is what I mean:

1. There is one and Triune God to whom we must all give an account. 
2. Before Him, we are all guilty sinners, and the just recipients His eternal condemnation.
3. Jesus Christ has secured salvation through his perfect life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection and exaltation. 
4. Everyone must repent of their sins and trust in Him to save them from eternal judgement.

How do you budget for the Mission of the Church?

Now, in light of the centrality of teaching this gospel, let’s consider the first logical conclusion in your church. Teaching disciples involves, first of all, having a teacher who communicates sound doctrine. As it says in Romans 10 beginning in verse 13, “”Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (That is, a disciple) 14 But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? But how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? (Or have never been taught) But how shall they hear without a preacher?” 

So dear christian churches, budget line item number 1 should be: heralds! shepherds! teachers! The only regular budget item that we clearly find in the New Testament for a local church is that of a pastor. For example, in 1 Timothy 5:17 we read “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.” The term “double honor” is a first century idiom meaning to pay someone their salary with thanksgiving. But it is also clear here that Paul is not talking about all elders, but those who “rule well.” Jamie Dunlop, author of Budgeting for a Healthy Church, observes that Paul uses the word “especially” here to define what it means to “rule well.” Namely, we should pay the elders “who labor in the word and in teaching.” Paul is not describing two different ministries here, but he means that we should pay the elders who do especially much eldering: Primarily, preaching, teaching, and counseling (although the pastoral ministry may include many other duties)

The same principle of why any worker should be paid his wages applies to pastors. God created the world in such a way that every worker should be able to live from his work and receive his salary. This is exactly what Paul means when he refers to Deu 25:4 in 1 Tim 5:18and 1 Cor 9:9. “You shall not bind up the mouth of an ox when it treads out the grain“

Perhaps that concept is a little unclear to most urban people in the 21st Century, but Moses is speaking about a process where an ox or some other animal grinds up the grain. For example, the farmer lays out a bunch of wheat, and his ox would walk around in a circle and move a giant millstone that would crush the grain into flour. Now the question is, do you cover up his mouth so that he doesn’t eat your wheat, or do you leave his mouth uncovered? Moses says leave it uncovered. 

My friend Chris has a bunch of oxen on his farm in Bavaria. And although they don’t thresh, Chris once made something very clear to me. Oxen are wild animals, and they don’t do anything they don’t want to do. They have to be threatened or baited anytime you want them to do something. If you want an ox to walk around a millstone, it wouldn’t just be cruel to cover up its mouth and prevent it from eating. That’s not really what this verse is about. No, it would be unwise to bind up its mouth. It would be to your detriment! You want this ox to work hard. If he doesn’t get a wage from his work, he has little motivation for it. You may lose 10 percent of your grain if that ox treads out grain with an uncovered mouth, but a free mouth has many advantages: First, even though you lose 10 percent of your grain, he will probably work 300% more; second, you don’t have to spur him on with a cattleprod; and third, every workday when you call out to the herd, “Hey its time to tread out the grain” your ox comes galloping to you with great joy.

Jesus taught in Luke 10, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” and Paul applied that to the Corinthians as follows: 1 Cor. 9:14 “So also the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel.” 

Some traditions maintain that pastors should ideally take no salary from their congregation and rather be tentmakers. They say, “see, Paul himself did not take a salary from the Corinthians or the Thessalonians,” but they often misunderstand Paul’s purpose for doing so. Paul was supported in Thessalonica by the church in Philippi and possibly others, and he did not take a salary from the Corinthians and Thessalonians because he did not want to confuse them as to what the purpose of his apostolic ministry: namely, funding Paul was not a remuneration for the gospel he preached to them. As if he is a gospel peddler, and they are compensating him for his snake oil. Rather, all support of Paul’s ministry was an investment and a participation (koinonia) in his continued work. This norm is clear in 1 Cor. 9:14. By the preaching of the gospel, not merely alongside, but by this work, the servant of God should receive a living. 

I derive 3 applications from this for you and your church budget:

1. Pay your primary teaching pastor

First, if a church is serious about its mission, it should take on the salary of its teaching pastor as soon as possible. Again, think about the ox. I mean, your interest in paying your pastor relates relatively little to the thought, “Oh, poor pastor, we ought to give him something.” No, be more selfish! You want your pastor to work hard. It’s in your best interest. You want to receive the best possible preaching. You want his teaching to be totally awesome. You want him to not be distracted from his work. But if every step a pastor takes toward the church is a step away from his responsibility for his family and his livelihood, that church is obscuring God-ordained incentives. Think about the ox! Many churches make this very mistake without knowing that they are shooting themselves in the foot.

2. Pastors should generally not deny a salary from their church

I have some dear friends in ministry who actively seek to become self-sufficient and deny a salary from the church. I think that is short-sighted and unbiblical. Some brother pastors are particularly gifted for bi-vocational ministry, and I am thankful for that. The failure in this isn’t that these brothers have other sources of income. If your time and responsibilities to church and family permit you to do that, then please do! But if a significant part of your week is dedicated to teaching, and your church is ready and willing to pay you, please accept the pay. Feel free to give it all back in the offering plate, but please accept the wage for your labors! If you do not take the wage, you are leaving your church’s discipleship in generosity in the infancy stages. One day, the Lord will bury you, and most pastors aren’t able to function like you do. Having a full time pastor paid by the church enables much equipping of the saints. Don’t hinder your church’s ability to accomplish that in the future by enabling unrealistic expectations. Also, giving the wage of the pastor should be a joy and privilege for your members, not a burden. So dear brother pastor, please train them up in the joy of generosity, because, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

3. The pastor is worthy of his wages; how much should his salary be?

But then, how much? How much should a church pay its pastor? According to Jesus, simply worthy of his wages. I did not say worthy of his title, or according to his needs, or according to the fruits of his ministry (negative or positive). But, just as every worker is worthy of his wages, so is your pastor. 

So, his hours, his tenure, his expertise, and his influence over others he oversees are all important factors. Similar principles by which a secular employer determines wages should apply. And as a church, you know this better than the world: “The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:6-7). So please brothers and sisters, don’t shoot yourselves in the foot. Some practical guidelines might look like this:

1. Does this role require a supervisory function over other staff? How is that usually compensated in your context?
2. The pastor is basically a resident academic (1 Tim 4:16), counselor (2 Tim 4:2; Acts 5:42; 20:20), and trainer (Eph 4:11-112). How are those jobs typically compensated in your context?
   1. On the governmental level?
   2. In the private sector?
   3. In academia?
   4. If your context is particularly corrupt in many of these areas, you could look at other contexts and scale those salaries to your context’s average income.
3. What kind of hours do you expect from your pastor? Be generous here in determining hours. If you expect your pastor to be on call 24/7 (please give at least one day off), that should be compensated. My general rule is, if I am at a church function and I am leading it, I am working. If I am at a church function and a non-elder is leading it, I am also working. (I have a responsibility to oversee the teaching.) But that is how I function, and your pastor might have different convictions, so ask him.

Conclusion

Okay, so how did we end up here? In Matthew 6 we saw that whatever the King treasures we should also treasure. And if his goals are truly our treasure, then we should sacrifice everything else, including our money and the church’s budget for it. How do we do this practically? According to Matthew 28, and the Great Commission: through teaching. And if teaching is so important to the spread of the gospel, promoting and supporting great and undistracted teachers should be your goal. So, christian churches, put your money where your mouth is. 

When your church’s budget is derived from the Great Commission, you can trust that not one cent of our finances will be wasted. You may not achieve the goals you wanted, but you will be faithful to your King. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to King Jesus. He is also with you until the end of the age! He instructs how to steward your church’s finances by His Word. He also enables your fruitfulness by His Spirit. May you listen to Him. Amen.